Sometimes love comes after marriage.
Shane
When I quit my job, my boss threatened that I’d never work as a lawyer again…
I figured he was a fossil with an elevated sense of self-importance, but two months later, I have to admit he has reach. Only one firm is interested in giving me a job, and there’s been a slight misunderstanding. One of the partners saw me with my best friend’s sister, Ruthie, and her daughter, and now they think I’m a family man.
To my mind, wedding bells only lead to misery, but it seems to be the only reason they want to hire me. So I play along.
Of course, they want to meet my family, so I have to ask Ruthie, who’s hated me for years, if she’d like a part-time job as my wife.
Ruthie
My brother’s best friend is a vain, stuffed suit of a man, and one of my favorite past-times is teasing him. So I’m stunned when he asks me to pose as his wife.
Still…I can’t deny it’s a compelling offer. I’m trying to get my small business off the ground, but it’s proven near impossible with my full-time waitressing job, lack of childcare, and terrible health insurance.
Shane is offering me a chance to turn my life around.
All I have to do is pretend to like him…
We’ve seen Ruthie and Shane interact throughout the series, so we know it’s not pretty. They always seem to be at odds but maybe that’s only because they think the worst of one another. Shane is currently in a bind because he can’t get a job anywhere and he’s finally gotten an offer, but the head of the firm thinks he’s a family man. Shane would prefer to tell him the truth, but it’s been months and despite interviewing at nearly every firm in town, he’s still jobless. He’s getting desperate so he asks Ruthie to play along but when he realizes that Ruthie and Izzy need better insurance, he asks her to marry him.
Ruthie is a struggling single mom who’s too proud to accept help so being paid to pretend to be Shane’s wife at a few business dinners is a dream job. Acting like she actually likes him will be a challenge, but she wants the money to get her new business off the ground. They agree it’s a business deal and nothing more but by the wedding night, they’re both ready to break the rules. Danny and Mira’s story teased Ruthie and Shane’s, so I thought I knew what to expect but there was so much more.
Shane has some baggage that’s made life difficult, and Ruthie has never honestly told him why she’s perpetually angry with him. Opening up to one another transforms their relationship, even as they both fret about where this is going and what it means. I liked these characters a lot and really enjoyed their story. It was fun and funny with plenty of steam and just enough suspense. I’d like to thank the author and Literally Yours PR for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
